Messages From the Pastor

Values for Each Season

During this past summer I pray that you and your family have had opportunities to experience life at a different pace and to enjoy the goodness of God’s world around you. Summer offers many of us opportunities of recreation and re-creation to restore and refresh our sagging spirits. Rest and relaxation help give us needed perspective in a sometimes hectic and stressful world.

As our children return to school and the pace of activities increase for some of us, we begin making decisions that will not only dictate our schedules but also reveal our values and priorities. To what will we say ‘yes’? To what will we say ‘no’? Will we make those decisions according to our deeper values or simply say ‘yes’ to what seems to be most pressing?

I invite you to make your relationship with God a priority in your life this fall. Find time for prayer, study, and reflection. Worship regularly in the church of your choice. Discover somewhere to serve with the gifts God has given to you. Seek the joyful fellowship of others in the faith.

I invite you to join us in worship each Sunday morning at Liberty and Broadway on the northeast corner of the Square. We have 3 unique worship service from which to choose. We have active programs for children, youth and adults. Together may we grow to serve and love in the name of Jesus. “No matter where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here!” Come, discover the love of Christ with a joyful community of faith.

Blessings,

Neal R. Sadler, Senior Pastor

Sent to Serve

In recent weeks Medina United Church of Christ has had two mission teams return after serving in other communities. An adult mission team journeyed to Costa Rica to assist a local church in Alajueta in their ministry to the poorest of the poor in the community. The team assisted in a variety of ministries including building a simple house for a family whose home had burned. The youth and their chaperones went to Henderson Settlement to serve in an Appalachian community in Kentucky. They, too, performed physical labor as they helped to fix up homes for local families. Both groups worked hard and returned with fresh energy and vision to minister to persons in our community.

In mission work we discover a wonderful paradox: growing hot, sweaty, tired and dirty when we are doing it for others and with people who share our commitment to serve can be refreshing and rejuvenating. In the numerous mission trips in which I have participated, I have discovered that nearly every person returns with a deeper joy in their lives and a greater commitment to help others. God created us humans to be giving people and so we are happiest when we are serving.

Of course, we do not need to go to other communities to serve. Wherever we live, wherever we journey, God provides opportunities for us to serve. In our serving and our caring, we are always blessed. We find that in God’s providence we receive far more than we give.

I invite you to join us in worship each Sunday at Liberty and Broadway on the northeast corner of the Square. Together may we grow to serve and give in the name of Jesus. “No matter where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here!” Come, discover the love of Christ with a joyful community of faith.

Blessings,

Neal R. Sadler, Senior Pastor

Celebrating Graduation with Pentecost

In Medina this year, our high school graduation comes on Pentecost Sunday. Over the years graduation has been a time of optimism and opportunity, of dreams and daring. We go forth eager and excited to make our place in the world. At least that is what graduation has usually meant. This year though, is a bit different. Graduates are uneasy, maybe a bit scared. Opportunities seem scarce; jobs almost non-existent; dreams seem to be dreams and nothing more. School doesn’t seem so bad anymore. The real world of work and responsibility appears overwhelming.

In the early church Pentecost was a day of dreams and opportunities as well. The Holy Spirit came upon the early believers with power and drove them into the streets of the city to testify to the risen Christ. Everything was new and exciting. Everything was also scary and uncertain. Where would the Spirit lead? What would happen next? Would they be ready?

Pentecost and graduation prove to be alike. They are times of expectation and promise, but also times of fear and anxiety. Life is always a stirring mixture of the good and the bad, joy and sadness, success and failure. Worry intrudes amidst our moments of greatest delights and new challenges temper our most satisfying successes.

And so every day becomes a day to trust in the goodness of God and to seek the help of the Holy Spirit. Only through God’s presence can we have the courage and faith to venture forth in the knowledge that God will be working in and through us. As we celebrate the graduations of friends and family members let us seek the filling of God’s Spirit to lead and empower us to attempt great things for God and for God’s world.

Please join us in worship on the northeast corner of the historic square in Medina. We offer three unique services each Sunday morning. Come and receive hope amidst a joyful community of faith. May you know that “No matter where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here at Medina United Church of Christ!” May God’s Spirit shine among us!

May God bless us all as we grow together in faith,

Neal R. Sadler, Senior Pastor

Spring Arrives with Easter!

I have just completed my first winter here in Medina (though with the weather this week I am not certain that winter is over just yet). I expected the snow and the cold of northeast Ohio for I have lived most of my life in similar climates. What I did not expect though, was the endless succession of gray, dreary days. It appears that sometime in November the sun packs up and leaves this area, refusing to make anything more than a brief visit until March. Even now, it doesn’t seem to want to stay around for very long.

We live for several months in the hope of spring – blue skies, warm breezes, daffodils, green grass and flowering trees. We long for the appearance of new life in the natural world all around.

How often much of our life seems to be stuck in winter. We endure long dreary, gray days of job loss, or relationship breakups, or chronic illnesses, or uncertain futures. We long for the clouds to disappear and the warm blue skies of spring to make all things better. We sometimes wonder whether it will ever happen.

Then, somehow, from somewhere, spring arrives. Our hope is renewed. Our world is good once again. At least for awhile.

In our Christian faith, this hope can be found at all times in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the empty tomb on the first Easter morning, God proclaims that life, new life, eternal life awaits us. God offers the hope of eternal resurrection not only for our lives, but also for the whole world. God desires us all to know the blessings of a God who conquers death and invites us to live amidst God’s holy reign.

Please join us in worship on the northeast corner of the historic square in Medina. We offer three unique services each Sunday morning. Come and receive hope amidst a joyful community of faith. May you know that “No matter where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here at Medina United Church of Christ!” We are an Easter people.

May God bless us all as we grow together in faith,

Neal R. Sadler, Senior Pastor

Try Something New for Lent

We have entered the Lenten season within the Christian church. Lent is the 40-day period prior to Easter set aside for reflection and preparation in anticipation of receiving Jesus as our resurrected Lord and God on Easter morning. During this time we seek to know ourselves and our Savior more fully.

Sometimes, Lent is described as a somewhat somber and sacrificial time. We give up or sacrifice something for God, something like chocolate or ice cream. We believe that in denying ourselves something in which we indulge, we are brought closer to the fullness of God’s will in our lives.

I suggest this Lent that instead of giving something up, we take something on. I am not suggesting we eat more chocolate or another bowl of ice cream. I suggest that we seek to put on something more Christ like. In the words of the apostle Paul, we are called to put on things such as compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience, and to bear with one another, and to forgive one another, and above all to put on love (Colossians 3:12-14). By putting on things such as these, God’s Spirit can enable us to grow more like the Savior whom we follow.

Please join us in worship on the northeast corner of the historic square in Medina. We offer three unique services each Sunday morning. Come and receive hope amidst a joyful community of faith. May you know that “No matter where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here at Medina United Church of Christ!” God’s love ministers to us all.

May God bless us all as we strive together to follow the Lord,

Neal R. Sadler, Senior Pastor

Hope for the New Year

Many of us begin this year with fear and trepidation. Last year was disastrous for our economy. Some of us lost jobs and for many more of us our jobs are uncertain. Retirement savings have plummeted. The housing market continues to tank. The outlook for the future is unsettled. Most of us have never lived in such uncertain economic times. Perhaps we feel darkness has descended in our world or our lives.

Amidst dark times such as these, the prophet Isaiah urges, “Arise, shine; for your light has come.” Those who have placed their hope in the Lord are not overcome by the darkness. God is faithful. God continues to minister even amidst the difficult, confusing and depressing times. The darkness of our economy will not shut out the light of God.

During these unpredictable times, let us gain hope and courage from God’s presence. Let those of us who have abundance be generous with those who are lacking. Let us build one another up in the spirit of Christian love. May we celebrate the gifts that we receive each day.

As we begin the New Year please join us in worship on the northeast corner of the square. We offer three unique services each Sunday morning. Come and receive hope amidst a joyful community of faith. May you know “No matter where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here at Medina United Church of Christ!” God’s love ministers to us all.

May you have a blessed New Year,
Neal R. Sadler, Senior Pastor

Looking Forward to Christmas

Children often measure time by Christmas. Christmas appears at the center of their calendars and everything else revolves around it. “How many days before next Christmas?” they begin asking soon after Christmas Day is finished (and usually before the bills have been paid). The Christmas season is the highlight of a child’s year. They enjoy the decorations, the cookies, the carols, and (if we are honest) they enjoy the presents they receive most of all. No other day, including their birthday, can match Christmas Day.

Christmas should be a big day, though perhaps not for some of the reasons of our children. Someone once said, “Christmas is the day that holds all time together.” Why? On the first Christmas Day, God became flesh and entered human history, revealing plainly the divine love for us. In the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day, God’s gift of salvation was clearly revealed. We received “good news of a great joy.”

Despite the many secular traditions of Christmas that serve to draw us away from the real story of the Christmas season, I rejoice that Christmas is the biggest day of the year. I rejoice that we look forward to Christmas with eagerness and anticipation. I wish we adults had a little more of the enthusiasm that our children possess . . . enthusiasm not for presents but enthusiasm to receive and experience anew the wonderful awe-inspiring news of God’s coming.

Please join us in worship on the northeast corner of the square during this Christmas season. We offer three unique services each Sunday morning. On Christmas Eve we worship in our beautiful, historic sanctuary. At 6:00 p.m. we offer a Family Worship Service led by our Gathering Praise Band. At 9:00 p.m. we offer a Traditional Service of Lessons and Carols with special music offered by our Chancel Choir. Both services celebrate the birth of Jesus through familiar carols and candlelight. I will tell an original story, “Old First Church,” at each service.

Many blessings for a joyous Christmas,

Neal R. Sadler, Senior Pastor

Giving Thanks in Difficult Times

We live in difficult and uncertain economic times. Retirement savings have plummeted, vital industries are threatened, job losses are soaring, and no one knows what lies ahead. Economists, politicians and business leaders debate the effectiveness of government bailouts. Most persons living today have never faced such a dire economic future.

Amidst this unsettledness, can we offer thanks in this season of Thanksgiving? When jobs and savings are unpredictable. . . when we have to tighten household budgets and forego common expenditures. . .when some of us worry daily what the future may bring. . . is thanksgiving still possible? Yes, it is! It is possible if our thankfulness does not come from our material abundance but from our experience of a loving and merciful God. It is possible if we look not at what we lack but at what we have received.

Our economy will be strong and our nation will be strong once again when we are a nation that becomes thankful. Thankful people are generous people. They work together to support those in need. They strive together for the good of all. When thankfulness replaces greed, we will discover the blessings of a God-centered economy.

I invite you to join us in worship each Sunday on the northeast corner of the Square at Liberty and Broadway. Together may we discover the strength of Christian community and grow in God’s grace. “No matter where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here! Come, experience the love of Christ in a joyful community of faith.

Blessings,
Neal R. Sadler, Senior Pastor

Generosity and Happiness

Have you ever met a generous person you didn’t like? Have you ever met a stingy person that you liked? Not very often. We enjoy being around generous persons. We dread being around stingy persons.

Generous persons always seem happier. They rarely complain and generally seem quite content. Even though they may not be wealthy, it seems that they are. People who are able to give freely and graciously always seem to have so much more joy than those who give begrudgingly or not at all.

Perhaps the simplest and most effective path to happiness lies in our attitude toward giving. If we want more joy, try to be more generous. Generosity does not mean simply that we give more money to others. It involves a spirit where all that we have received is from God and is to be shared with all God’s people. Life and life’s gifts are all meant to be shared with others.

Blessings,
Neal R. Sadler, Senior Pastor

Values and Priorities

Vacations are over, school has begun, Labor Day Weekend has come and gone, and the busyness of fall activities is in full swing. At this time of the year we look at our schedules and decide what we have time to pursue and what we have to forego. The routines we begin in September often last until May, so we need to think deeply about our priorities and establish good habits now.

Many of us here in Medina are deeply blessed with an abundance of opportunities, and we want to take advantage of as many as possible. Our days fill up with activities for ourselves, our children and perhaps our grandchildren. We plan each hour of each day with good things for us and our children to do and often there is simply not enough time to do all the things we desire. What will we include? What will we leave out? The decisions we make reflect those things we truly value.

As we make our decisions, do we consider the priorities of Scripture? Where is God in the process? As Christians, our worship of God, our growth in faith, and our service to others are important priorities. Regular participation in worship and Church School is a must for healthy spiritual lives.

I invite you to join us in worship each Sunday on the Square at the corner of Liberty and Broadway. Together may we discover the strength of Christian community and grow in God’s grace. “No matter where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here!” Come, experience the love of Christ in a joyful community of faith.

Blessings,
Neal R. Sadler, Senior Pastor